Saturday, June 26, 6:00 am I’ve just woken up on a someone else’s mattress on the floor of an empty bedroom in an apartment I don’t know. And I’m elated! Why, is that, dear diary? Because this empty bedroom is in my son’s summer apartment, and I had a sleepover with him last night. Yes, that could […]
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Art on the Way to Physics at Michigan State Univ.
In case you’ve missed the million times I’ve worked this into conversation, my son, Finn, is entering the doctoral program in physics at Michigan State this fall. I’ve arrived just a few days after he’s moved here; he’s starting his research work with the Ice Cube neutrino detector now, so we’re camping near his summer […]
Backtracking to Michigan
Our tour around Iowa to visit Tracy’s peeps has (sadly) ended, but now we’re backtracking east to Michigan to visit Finn in his new digs at grad school. So, once again, we’re uncharacteristically booking it down the road. We’ve headed from Iowa to Illinois to Indiana to Michigan. Our First Fairgrounds Stay I hadn’t thought about […]
Time to Migrate South
Lake Superior is so alive and accessible and multifaceted. The NorthWoods are lush and cool. The culture is a type of weird I’ve never encountered. But it was 47 degrees this morning when I walked Banjo, so it’s time to go! Apple, My Overlord I’ve spent several hours every day sucking up our precious cell […]
Yooping
All broken things aside (my laptop is officially toast, as is my bike tire and pump), we’re making the most of our non-fixing-things time here. We’re in a small town that’s directly north of a very cool lift bridge that crosses the canal dividing the eastern portion of the U.P. Few large boats need to […]
Deer Skull Boiling: We’re Not There Yet
We made it to Hancock, Michigan, which is right on the canal that sets apart the tip of the Upper Peninsula. According to signs, there’s a lot of these activities around here: Snowmobiling Drinking in roadside bars Hunting Selling handicrafts (these seem to be mostly wooden spoons) Living in giant, rundown frat houses (Michigan Tech). […]
Goodbye Perch Lake + Planning
We’re leaving this gorgeous lake today and headed for our final northern camping spot in Hancock, MI, before big plans. Here are a few final photos. Banjo’s Morning Repose One cold morning she dug this hole to hunker down and wait for the sun to reflect off the lake. Finally, sunshine. I think she’s part […]
The Mosquito Hike
You know things are quiet around here when I follow a post about seeing a bird’s nest with one about taking a three-mile speed walk around a wetland. But it gives me an excuse to provide your weekly mushroom slideshow! We booked it around this loop, skimming the interpretive signs and keeping Banjo on track […]
Eagle’s Nest Island
I’m one of those pitiable people who grew up when bald eagles were endangered and never saw them. I was in my 40s when I’d occasionally see one over the Potomac River in West Virginia or over Lake Anna in central Virginia, and I’d have a spaz attack. Now that I’m where they’re plentiful (Perch […]
The Sky on the Lake
I just can’t get enough of it. I would have spent more time on the water this evening had I realized when I got in the boat wearing my rainboots that eventually they wouldn’t really fit in there. Rainboots plus workout pants. My evening sky-appreciation attire.
